Catholic Church’s Largest
Order of Priests and Brothers Celebrates Newest Members

For Immediate Release

(Washington, D.C., September 27, 2017) —
This fall, the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) welcomed 38 new
novices in the U.S., Canada and Haiti. These men are the newest members of the
largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church.

In late August, Jesuit novices arrived at
novitiates in Culver City, California; Grand Coteau, Louisiana; St. Paul,
Minnesota; Syracuse, New York; Montreal, Quebec; and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. for
a rite of passage known as Entrance Day. Ranging in age from 21 to 47, the men
will live in community, learn the rhythm of daily prayer, and deepen their
understanding of God’s call to the Society.

St. Ignatius Loyola, who co-founded the Society in 1540,
detailed the process of becoming a Jesuit in the Jesuit Constitutions. The
total journey toward Jesuit priesthood or brotherhood can take from eight to 12
years. For the first two years — the novitiate — the novices complete a series
of “experiments,” designed to test the men’s vocations and help the men discern
the specific ways each Jesuit is called to serve the Church. Examples of
experiments include serving the poor and marginalized at various Jesuit ministries,
teaching, learning a foreign language, working in a hospital and making a
pilgrimage.

These activities allow novices to dive into the work of the
Society, at the margins, as fellow Jesuit Pope Francis has urged. The pope, who
entered the Jesuit novitiate in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1958, said, “The Jesuit
always thinks, again and again, looking at the horizon toward which he must go,
with Christ at the center. This is his real strength. And that pushes the
Society to be searching, creative and generous.”

Co-founded in 1540 by Saint Ignatius Loyola, the Society of
Jesus (Jesuits) is the largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman
Catholic Church. The Society's mission is to put reconciliation into practice
each day — with God, with human beings and with the environment. Jesuit priests
and brothers are involved in educational, pastoral and spiritual ministries around
the world, practicing a faith that promotes justice. In Canada and the United
States, there are 30 Jesuit colleges and 80 pre-secondary and secondary schools
with a shared goal of developing competent, compassionate and committed leaders
in the service of the Church and society. Jesuits minister in parishes and at
retreat houses and serve as chaplains at prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and
in the military. The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States,
headquartered in Washington, D.C., represents all Jesuits in Canada and the
U.S. For more information on the Society of Jesus, visit www.jesuits.org.

(Washington, D.C., June 28, 2018) — This summer, the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits — the largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church — is welcoming 27 new priests in the U.S., Canada and Haiti (a member of the Jesuits’ French Canada Province).

(Washington, D.C., June 21, 2018) – Loyola University Chicago’s Center for the Human Rights of Children, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, Kino Border Initiative, the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities, and 11 Jesuit law schools strongly oppose the so-called “Zero Tolerance” policy of the Trump Administration, which reinforces the criminalization of migration and has already separated thousands of migrant families.

(Washington, D.C., March 13, 2018) — Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, has named new rectors for the two Jesuit theology centers in the United States. Fr. Michael Boughton, SJ, will serve as rector of the Faber Jesuit Community at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (BCSTM), while Fr. Martin Connell, SJ, will serve as rector of the Jesuit Community at the Jesuit School of Theology (JST) of Santa Clara University.

(Washington, D.C., November 2, 2017) — Timed to coincide with the upcoming UN COP23 climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, Jesuits and lay collaborators from around the world will hold a series of events in Bonn to complement and amplify the talks taking place next week.

(Washington, D.C., October 4, 2017) — Today, on the Feast Day of St. Francis, the saint most identified with care for creation, two Jesuit organizations have partnered to produce what’s being called an Ecological Examen.

(Washington, D.C., September 5, 2017) — Dear Dreamers: We write on this difficult day to remind you of God’s love for you and to tell you that you are not alone. Across the U.S., Dreamers like yourself have graced classrooms in Jesuit schools — from the smallest among you to those now earning advanced degrees. You came to us for an education, you came for pastoral and spiritual guidance, and we welcomed you — not because of your nationality — but because you are our brothers and sisters in Christ. No government can tear that sacred bond.

(Washington, D.C., June 22, 2017) — This summer, the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits — the largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church — will welcome 29 new priests in the U.S., Canada and Haiti (a member of the Jesuits’ French Canada Province).

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